Full quote on services to illegal immigrants

In the July 6 editorial “ ‘No’ to sick kids,” there was a sentence that utilized a partial quote by me about a recent health insurance proposal for illegal immigrants that was removed from the state budget. The sentence in the editorial stated: “But neither he [the governor] nor Democratic legislative leaders were willing to stand up to Republicans like state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta), who believes that ‘it is reprehensible to offer services to individuals who come to California illegally.’ ”

In a June 11 press release, my entire quote was: “It is reprehensible to offer services to individuals who come to California illegally that aren’t even available to California’s legal residents. This proposal will only continue to exacerbate the illegal immigration problem.”

What I found reprehensible was that while offering that health benefit to illegal immigrants, the same benefit wasn’t being offered to legal California residents of the same income brackets of up to $60,000 per year for a family of four.

SEN. DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH

R-Murrieta